Barrel holding and protecting device.



H. B. TOWNSEND. BARREL HOLDING AND PROTECTING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21, I915.

Patented Sept 5, 1916.

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BARREL HOLDING AND PROTECTING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Fatented Sept. 5, 1916.

Application filed. June 21, 1915. Serial No. 35,356.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT B. TOWN- SEND, of Ilion, in the county of Herkimer and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Barrel Holding and Protecting Devices; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertainsto make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the reference numerals marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

The purpose of my present invention is to provide a new and improved barrel hold- 7 ing and protecting device.

In order to give the outside of a gun, rifle, or other fire-arm barrel the desired brown or other finish, the barrel is first moistened or bathed with water, acid or other material and then given a bath in one or more different solutions which color the outside metal of the barrel to the desired shade; then the barrel has to be cleaned and polished without the barrel coming in contact with any undesired object and particularly without the barrel being touched by the hands of the workman. Heretofore the common practice has been to insert wooden plugs in each end of the barrel to keep these different liquids from getting into and injuring the inside of the barrel, while the projecting ends of the said wooden plugs have served as handles to hold the barrel during cleaning and polishing. In spite of the care used with these plugs, they occasionally allow the acid or other liquids to leak through and injure the interior of the barrel, sometimes spoiling the barrel completely and, in any event, necessitating the re-rifling or re-finishing of the interior of the barrel. Only a very few kinds of woods are suitable for these plugs and they gradually deteriorate through continued use requiring close inspection of them before each use and have to be entirely discarded after being used some time.

The purpose of this invention is to provide another and more efficient, durable and convenient holding and protecting device for the barrels during the said operations.

A further purpose is to provide a device of the character described, that is more readily adapted for use with barrels of different sizes or formations,

and also a device that will be much stronger and more rigid than heretofore. 4

. A still further purpose of this invention 1s to provide a device of the character described of such construction that washers of acid-resisting material may be positively held against the ends of the barrel so as to be free from accidental displacement;v and also to provide removable, adjustable, pressure-exerting or screw-threaded means, or any combination thereof, for holding the olnt-effecting washers against the end of the barrel.

A yet further purpose is to provide a device of the character described composed of a rod extending through the barrel and projecting from the ends thereof and handles on the extended ends of said rod and washers onsaid rod interposed between the ends of the barrel and the handles and means of such character as to make a tight joint against the ends of the barrel and against the rod upon which the washers are mounted; and in combination with such a construction to provide adjustable and pressureeXerting means to make such tight joint.

Further purposes and advantages of my invention will appear from the specification and claims herein.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through a device embodying my invention as applied to a rifle barrel, the central part of the barrel being cut away to allow the material parts to be shown more clearly. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of one of the barrel-engaging washers when free from pressure. Fig. 1 is a sectional view through one of the cone-faced blocks. Fig. 5 is a sectional view of one of the washers used to make a tight joint against the rod showing the same when not under pressure. Fig. 6 is a sectional view through one of the spacing blocks. Fig. '1 is a longitudinal sectional view through a modified form of my device, and Figs. 8 and 9 are sectional views through the single washer and block used at each end in such modification.

Referringto the drawings in a more particular description, there is seen a rifle or gun barrel 9 through the bore 10 of which extends a strong rod 11 of metal or other suitable material. The opposite ends 12 and 13 of said rod eXtend beyond the opposite ends 14 and 15 of the said barrel. Upon each extended end of said rod and toward the adjacent end of the barrel is placed a washer 16 of rubber or other material sufiiciently proof against acid and other solutions used and of sufficient resiliency or elasticity to be forced against the end of the barrel and make a tight j oint and be capable of repeated use in the same way. Next beyond the washer 16 and also slidingly mounted on the rod 11 is a block 17 of metal or suitable hard material having its face 18 toward the barrel cone-shaped or slanting from the barrel as the block extends from the rod. The other side of said block 17 has a recess or depression 20 about its aperture and surrounding the rod. Beyond this conefaced block 17 and engaging the recessed face 20 thereof is an intermediate or secondary washer 21 of material similar to the others. Beyond this washer is a spacing block 22 also loosely and slidingly mounted on the rod 11. Beyond the spacing block 22, there is screw-threaded onto the threaded outer end of the rod ends 12 and 13, a handle 23 which is primarily a nut and conveniently formed in the shape of a convenient handle, both for holding the device and the barrel mounted thereon and also as a handle for operating the nut portion of the said handle. It will now be seen that rotation in the proper direction of the handles 23 on the rod 11 or at least the rotation of one handle while the other remains fixed, will operate to crowd withgreat pressure toward the opposite ends of the barrel the several parts interposed between the barrel ends and the handles and severally retained in axial position by the extended ends of the rod. Rotation in a reverse direction of said handles upon the rod, or, at least, such rotation of one handle while the other remains fixed, will operate to loosen the contact of said parts from the barrel. When the parts are so drawn toward the opposite barrel ends, the cone-faced or tapering face 18 of blocks 17 will increase the tendency of the resilient washers 16 to seat themselves against the ends 14- and 15 of the barrel and particularly crowd the central portion'of the said washer into the bore of the barrel slightly or into any irregularity or depression there may be at either end as is common to said barrels and as indicated in the drawings herein. This engagement will effect a tight joint between the engaged end of the barrel and the adjacent side of the washer, but the forcing down of the washer into the bore of the barrel or any irregu larity or pocket there may be at that point has a tendency to slightly" draw the washer 16 from close contact with the projected rod ends 12 and 13 extending through said washer. V

In order to overcome any possibility of a leak around the rod, I prefer to provide a secondary washer 21 for the express purtightness to pose of making a tight joint around the rod. The washer provided for this purpose is the washer 21 located at the outer side of block 17. The recess 20 provided upon the outer side of said block 17 tends to force the washer 21 to come into close contact with the rod 11 when pressure is placed upon the washer 21, as will be seen by reference to Fig. 1 where this washer is shown as forced down into the pocket 20 of block 17. The spacing block 22 placed beyond the supplemental washer 21 operates as a washer to prevent the rotating movement of handle 23 distorting washer 21 in an obvious manner and also operates as a spacing block of some length between the threaded portion of the extended rod ends 12 and 13 and the washers 16 and 21 and block 17, which preferably are placed upon a smooth portion of said extended rod ends 12 and 13 in order to make less wear upon the washers and in order to facilitate the effecting of a tight joint by supplemental washer 21 about the rod 11 as well as to allow as tight a joint as possible between main washer 16 and said rod. The spacing blocks 22 also enable a set of my holding and protecting devices to be used for barrels of somewhat different length.

It will be understood that the rods 11 will be of small enough diameter to be used with the smallest barrels produced at a factory and that this size of rod will be of sufficient strength and firmness to be also used upon practically all the larger sizes of guns or rifles.

In operation the device to be attached to a barrel 9 will have the parts at one end of the rod assembled thereon; namely, the handle 23, spacing block 22, supplemental washer 21, cone-faced block 17 and main washer 16. Usually the engagement of the washers with the rod will be of sufficient hold them in such an assembled position. The free end of the rod 11 is then inserted through the barrel or the barrel inserted over the free end, as most convenient, and then the parts are assembled into position at the other end of the rod in proper order, and by proper rotation of one or both handles the necessary tight joint is effected at both ends of the barrel and about both ends of the rod. The barrel with a device thus attached may then be subjected to the necessary baths without injury to the interior of the barrel and without the parts of the device being injured or loosened. The washers being acid-resisting will last for a long tim but may be replaced as needed at little expense. The handles, blocks and rod will last indefinitely since the slight action of the acid or other liquids thereagainst will not appreciably effect their strength or rigidity for a long time. After being subjected to the various baths, the handles 23 are utilized for handling the barrel through the difi'erent cleaning, polishing or other finishing operations. The handles being positively mounted on the rod 11 and securely attached thereto form sulficiently rigid handles to enable the barrels to be handled much more quickly and conveniently than was the case where the plugs might become loose, and specially enables a barrel to be handled from one handle if desired. The handles 23 may be made in the form of a loop as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, both to obtain the desired convenient shape of handle without too great weight and also to enable the handles to be placed over a hook or other suspension means so that the protecting and holding devices may be handled many at a time. After the barrel has been cleaned, polished or otherwise finished the holding device is removed by removing from the rod the attached parts at one end of the barrel and withdrawing the rod from the other end of the barrel. The parts of the device are then set aside for the next use, it being understood that the parts of the device when used in great numbers are interchangeable.

Figs. 7, 8, and 9 illustrate a modified form of my invention in that a single washer 24: is used upon the rod at each end of the barrel, said washer upon one of its surfaces 25 engaging the adjacent end of the barrel and being engaged upon its other surface or side 26 by the recessed face 27 of a spacing block 28 beyond which is mounted a handle. The washer 24 is preferably lenticular in form or bulging upon both its faces 25 and 26 so that pressure from the recessed face 27 of block 28 forces the face 25 of the washer 24 against the adjacent end of the barrel in a liquid tight joint and at the same time the same washer on its other side is, through the formation indicated, firmly compressed against the rod thus effecting a liquid tight joint about the rod and about the end of the barrel. In Fig. 7 is shown a modified form of handle, in that the handle 23 here shown has a smaller loop or aperture therein so that said aperture does not extend to the screw-threaded, axially arranged opening by which the handle is secured to the rod.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Washington, D. G.

It will be obvious that various changes and modifications from the form of the parts herein shown may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a portable device for holding firearm barrels and protecting their interior surface when the outside is subjected to baths, the combination of a rod adapted to extend through a barrel and project there beyond, flexible washers on said projecting rod ends adapted to make a liquid-tight joint against the ends of the barrel and means on said rod ends for holding said washers against the barrel ends.

2. In a portable device for holding firearm barrels and protecting their interior surface when the outside is subjected to baths, the combination of a rod adapted to extend through a barrel and project therebeyond, flexible washers on said projecting rod ends adapted to make a liquid-tight joint against the ends of the barrel and screw-threaded adjusting means on said rod ends for holding said washers against the barrel ends.

3. In a portable device for holding firearm barrels and protecting their interior surface when the outside is subjected to baths, the combination of a rod adapted to extend through a barrel and project therebeyond at each end and on each rod end in succession from the barrel, aflexible washer, a rigid washer having its face toward the said flexible washer cone-shaped and its other face concave, a second flexible washer and screw-threaded means for forcing said washers toward the barrel end whereby a liquid-tight joint is made at each end of the barrel by the first-mentioned flexible washers and a liquid-tight joint is made about the rod by the second-mentioned flexible washers.

In witness whereof I have affixed my signature, in the presence of two witnesses, this 15th day of June 1915.

HERBERT B. TOWNSEND.

Witnesses:

HARRIET WILLIAMS, S. E. Hooxs.

"Commissioner of Iatents, 

